National Adult Literacy Database

January 31, 2005

This week, we are launching a story written by Nick Prince, from Vancouver, BC. You can read his story as well as hear it with Media Player.

Nick is enrolled at the Canucks Family Education Centre in Vancouver. He is a full-time father and works part-time. Nick just completed his Grade 12 diploma.

Congratulations Nick!

Play an audio version of this story

Story

by Nick Prince

Hi my name is Nick; my boy's name is Evan he is 7 years old and my daughter Rae-Anne is 6 years old. I'm a full-time father, work part-time and I just completed my Grade 12 diploma.

This is my third year with the Canucks Family Education Centre and its Partners In Education program. The first two years I attended the program were the best time that I've ever had with my kids. To watch them grow and learn is an awesome feeling. To learn to appreciate books for myself helped me become a lot closer to my boy because he is a real bookworm. And it made me realize I needed to go back to school and finish my Grade 12 diploma. Plus a little bribery from Jean helped. She said if I found out how many credits I had left to finish high school I could meet Brian Burke, the past general manager of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team and Paul Martin, the Prime Minister of Canada. It worked! I have now completed all of the requirements for my adult high school diploma. What a relief. I was scared to try because I thought I had a lot of difficult courses left to take, but in the end it was only one art course and a course in physical education. So bribery does sometimes work.

I didn't know how much the Partners In Education program would affect my relationship with my kids. I now realize how important it is for them to have my support both in the classroom and at home. I would never have spent that much time reading with them but the program has taught me the value of this. Jean, Lana, and the staff of Britannia and the Canucks Family Education Centre have made us into better people. This program has really turned my family's and my life around.

I used to be down and out and I was on a very destructive path. I dropped out of school the first time in Grade 8, when my parents got divorced, I moved with my Dad to Fort St. James where I spent a lot of time partying and working. Then I moved back to my Mom's and they put me into Grade 10 and 11, I got to miss Grade 9, I then dropped out again when I started to get into trouble. But once my kids came it sure changed a whole lot. I still struggle in life but I'm trying, it's hard sometimes. I've been a part of my children's life from day one. Their Mom was there in the beginning and then she left. It was hard being a single father, but when you got great kids by your side everything seems to work out. Their Mom is a big part of their life now so everything is better.

Without this program I don't know what I would be doing now. I don't think my boy would have received the Top All-star award, his first year in school and the citizenship award in his second year or my daughter the Top All-star award in her first year if not for the Canucks Family Education Centre. This program made me into a very proud Dad. So I would like to thank Jean, Lana, Britannia Elementary School, The Canucks for Kids Fund, the players and their partners and The Vancouver Sun's Raise A Reader program.